Rajiv Dalal

Quote

I am running to be the first Indian American ever elected to the California State Assembly. The United States India Political Action Committee advocates for issues that are very important to me--job and small business growth, education, and representation at all levels of government. I am honored to have USINPAC’s support.

Biography

Rajiv Dalal currently serves as the executive director of the Multiple Sclerosis Hope Foundation. He was most recently an economic development advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, focusing his efforts on bringing film and television production jobs back to California. In that capacity, he helped engineer and pass the California Film and Television Job Retention and Promotion Act, which has already brought thousands of middle class jobs back to California. As a result of his work, Rajiv was named Public Service Counsel of the Year by the Association of Media & Entertainment Counsel. Previously, he oversaw international corporate affairs for Warner Brothers, CNN, TIME, and HBO.

Human rights and pro-bono advocacy have always been important to Rajiv. After working for Senator Ted Kennedy and for Ambassador Michael Gardner on telecommunications infrastructure development in Africa, Rajiv co-founded and taught at the Samvedana School in India, which helps educate impoverished children in the slums of India. As an attorney at Dorsey & Whitney, Rajiv served as a victim interviewer for the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Currently, Rajiv serves as an advisor to several organizations, including Code the Streets, an inner city mentoring program and the Motion Picture Television Fund, a health and social safety net for film industry retirees.

He earned graduate degrees from Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs, Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Oxford. Rajiv lives in La Cañada with his wife Divya and their two dogs, Fozzie Bear and Animal.